ATLANTA (AP) 鈥� The Carter Center will provide nonpartisan observers to monitor midterm elections in Fulton County, Georgia, a Democratic bastion at the heart of metro Atlanta and at the core of former President Donald Trump鈥檚 false assertions that the 2020 presidential election was rigged.
The Center, co-founded in 1982 by former President Jimmy Carter and Roslaynn Carter, announced Thursday it agreed to observe Fulton voting and vote-counting at the request of a bipartisan group of Georgia elections officials. The move is seemingly intended to ease partisan tensions over how elections are conducted in the state and boost public confidence in the final tallies. But it also comes as part of a new state law that Georgia Republicans could use to in the heavily Democratic county that is home to Atlanta.
Elections monitoring internationally has been part of The Carter Center鈥檚 operations for decades, but it has more recently turned its attention to U.S. elections, as distrust in democratic processes has accelerated in recent years. After the 2020 election, Carter Center officials monitored the audit of the state鈥檚 5 million presidential ballots that affirmed Democrat Joe Biden鈥檚 victory over Trump.
The monitoring request is the latest turn after Georgia Republicans overhauled elections law after Democratic victories in the state in 2020. Soon after the law was passed in 2021, GOP lawmakers from Fulton County used it to trigger a 鈥減erformance review panel鈥� charged with assessing elections management in the heavily Democratic jurisdiction.
That prompted an outcry from Democrats asserting that Republicans planned ultimately to oust local Fulton officials and take over local elections administration. The law, however, doesn't exclude third-party monitors, thus allowing the joint request to The Carter Center by the review panel members and local Fulton officials.
Officials from both groups on Thursday endorsed The Carter Center鈥檚 role .
鈥淲e are grateful to The Carter Center for providing their expertise and believe that it will help lead to an efficient resolution of the performance review process,鈥� said Ryan Germany, general counsel to the Georgia secretary of state鈥檚 office a member of the Performance Review Board appointed to assess Fulton County.
Cathy Woolard, chair of the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections, said the local panel is 鈥済lad for this opportunity to ensure confidence in our elections process,鈥� and she noted the Center鈥檚 extensive work abroad as a measure of credibility.
Carter Center officials, according to the announcement, are monitoring the issuance and processing of absentee ballots, in-person voting during the early voting period and on Election Day, Fulton officials鈥� Election Day operations, and post-election procedures in the county. The Center has promised a complete report of its findings by the end of the year.
Fulton County accounts for about 11% of Georgia鈥檚 electorate. Biden won nearly 73% of the county鈥檚 votes in November 2020. He won statewide by fewer than 12,000 votes out of about 5 million cast. The county is about 45.5% white, 44.5% Black and about 7.6% people of Asian descent, according to U.S. Census data.
The county again will be key in the high-profile Senate contest between Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, and his Republican challenger Herschel Walker, and in the governor鈥檚 race between Republican incumbent Brian Kemp and Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams. The Senate race will help determine which party controls the Senate for the final two years of Biden鈥檚 term.
Since its founding, the Center has monitored 113 elections in 39 countries, according to CEO Paige Alexander.
In a statement Thursday, Alexander said the Center was providing 鈥渙bjective information about elections processes鈥� is part of 鈥渂uilding public confidence in elections.鈥� Alexander explained in a recent interview that rising distrust of the democratic process in America has demanded Carter Center attention.
鈥淎s we鈥檙e encouraging people to come to the polls, it鈥檚 because we want people to understand that the election, the integrity of the election is something that they can trust and that their voice would be heard,鈥� she told The Associated Press. 鈥淪o we鈥檙e walking down the same path that we do internationally and domestically.鈥�
Besides monitoring Fulton elections, the Center has launched an . Among them: accepting the results and the peaceful transfer of power. In Georgia, Abrams, Kemp and Warnock have signed the principles, as have Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his Democratic challenger Bee Nguyen.
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Associated Press journalists Kate Brumback and Alex Sanz contributed.
Bill Barrow, The Associated Press
